Eupen providing Florian Kohfeldt with toughest challenge of his managerial career | OneFootball

When Florian Kohfeldt took over at Eupen he must have known that it wasn’t going to be plain sailing. The side from the German speaking region of Belgium had lost a number of key players in the summer and did not have much in the way of funds to replace them. Given that they only just avoided relegation thanks to Cercle Brugge having a reason to beat Zulte Waregem on the final game of the 2022/2023 campaign, this season looked like a relegation battle in the making before the former Werder Bremen head coach was even announced.

Clearly, expectations at his former sides Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg would have been far higher than at Eupen. Yet when you consider the constraints with which the German head coach is working under at Eupen, it feels apt to say that this could be the toughest challenge of his managerial career so far. As an outside observer, it felt that the hiring was one in hope that his Bundesliga experience would help push the players to play beyond their capabilities, with the head coach being the catalyst rather than relying on any individual brilliance within the team.

However, so far Kohfeldt has failed to do that. It feels harsh to say that this is because of anything he personally has done wrong. When you look at the tools at his disposal, the start the club made to the season was beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. According to Transfermarkt, the club only spent €200k in the summer. This was on experienced striker Alfred Finnbogasson, a player Kohfeldt will have known well from facing him when he was at the peak of his powers with Augsburg.

However, at 34, the strikers prime is beyond him now. The rest of the signings were very Bundesliga heavy, with free agents Kevin Möhwald and Milos Pantovic joining from Union Berlin. Gabriel Slonina joined from Chelsea on loan, with Victor Pálsson returning from the USA to Europe. All of these players improved the squad dramatically, but they have not been enough to paper over the gaping cracks.

It started well for Florian and co, with the side winning three of their opening five games. Since then however, they have only managed one win in 14 games. They have slipped into the relegation zone, and the threadbare squad has become something that Kohfeldt is struggling to overcome. The starting XI that Kohfeldt puts out is usually his strongest, although he has kept 26-year-old Grenada international Regan Charles-Cook on the bench to provide at least one impact sub. Yet even his three goals and one assists in 15 games hasn’t helped the cause massively.

January usually provides a chance for struggling teams to asses the situation and address any issues. Yet for Eupen, the issue appears to be that there is very little wiggle room when it comes to bringing players in. Free’s and loans are all they can hope for, yet will this give Kohfeldt what he needs to keep them up?

If come the end of the season Eupen survive the drop, this will be the German’s greatest achievement. If they end up going down, not many can blame a man who has had to try and coach with his hands tied by the squad at his disposal.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson